Food slicer



E5 ZE C. DAUM FooD sLIcER lill INVENToR. v

TTORNEY' w15 HIHIIHHI IWW May 23, i933.

Patented May 23, 1933 STATES iaioe CHARLES BAUM, F NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOOD SLIGER Application filed April 25,

This invention relates to improvements in food slicing devices, beingparticularly directed to a mechanism adapted, by means of a singlestroke of a pivoted mechanism,

to cut an entire product into a series of slices equidistantly spacedapart.

In slicing food products, Vsuch as tomatoes, oranges and lemons,considerable difficulty has been encountered due to the comparativeflexibility or resiliency of the skins or rinds thereof, in conjunctionwith the properties of toughness possessed by Such skins or rinds,together with the fact that often the interior of the product may bevery ripe and soft. The ordinary knife blade used in cutting or slicingsuch food products, unless it is unusually sharp and has a piercingpoint at one edge thereof, must first penetrate the skin or rind of theproduct at a particular' point or area .before the complete operativelength of the blade may carry outl its function of cutting theperipheral surface, and then slicing the meaty interior of the product.

If the blade of suoli knife is not sharp, or the surface of the foodproduct above specified, is not pierced at the commenceu ment of thecutting operation, the product may not be evenly cut, and if theinterior or meaty portion of such product is soft, due

to the ripeness of the same, the meaty'portion is either crushed orcaused to be displaced, with the result that the skin or rind of theproduct breaks at a point or area far re- 5 moved from the. contemplatedcutting portion, and any attempt at cutting clean and even slicesbecomes unsuccessful.

It is to obviate this difficulty that this invention provides for theuse of a series of blades of a particular formation, assembled tooperate as a unit at pivoted relationship with respect to the foodholder, the blade unit being caused, by the rocking of the carriertherefor about a pivot, to be downwardly and angularly displacedtowardsand against the peripheral surface of the food product for thepurpose of successively and progressively piercing and then slicing theproduct along its peripheral surface in a prescribed specialrelationship so as to pro- 1931. Serial No. 532,819.

Vide for a series of slices of pre-determined thickness; the slicesbeing even and clearly defined by virtue of the attainment of a properpoint of cutting progressively for the respective segments on theperipheral surface of the food product, and the proper application of acutting surface of the blade to the skin or rind and then the meatyinterior of the food product, as the cutting' unit is displaced in itsdownward and angular movement.

These and other advantages, capabilities and features of the inventionwill appear from the subjoined detail description of one' specificembodiment therefor illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1 is a front view of the device, showing the position of some ofthe elements thereof in different stages of operation.

Figure 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of the device.

Figure 3 is an end elevation, partly in section, along lines 3-3 ofFigure 1.

Figure t is an end elevation taken along lines 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the reference characters in the drawing, numeral 10represents the base forming the support for the cutting element 11pivotally mounted on a bolt 12 at one end of the top surface 13 of saidsupport; part of the upper surface of said support being stamped out toform a receptacle 14 having an oval shaped substantially arcuatecarrying portion 15.

The surface of the receptacle, including the arcuate surface of thecarrying portion, has a. series of slots 16 extending substantially fromend to end of said surface, which slots are parallelly disposed one withrespect to the other and substantially equidistant one from the other(see Figures 2 and 3).

The support 10 has formed thereon integral legs 17 directly under thereceptacle portion thereof; and the main body thereof, adjacent theupper surface has integrally extending arcuately curved arms 18, throughwhich pass the bolt 12 carrying the pivoted cutting element 11, to belater described. Integral with the arcuate arms and depending therefrom,there is provided a supporting leg 2() to balance the base forming thesupport.

The pivoted cutting element comprises a stamped metal frame Ilsubstantially of the same cross sectional shape as the bas-e forming thesupport except, however, that it has a gripping portion 2l at one endand a holding portion 22 at the other end, both portions having handholds 2l and 22 thereon (see Figures 2 and Ll), soA that in operation,the right or left hand of the user rests on the hand hold 22 attached tothe arcuate arms 22 of the blade carrying element as by welding, whilewith the left hand the cutting element ll is lifted upwardly in thedirection of the dotted lines (see Figure l), about the pivot 12, sothat the blades 23 thereof may be presented in operative posi tion.

As shown in Figures l to 3 inclusive, the blades 23 are disposedbetweenthe sections 24 and 24 of the unit-ary stamped wall 2l of theblade carrying element in parallel. and equidistant position, therespective blades being mounted at their ends upon bolts 25 and 25passing through the opposite sections of the wall24 of the bladecarrying element Il, which bolts carry thereon spacer blocks 26 disposedbetween the respective blades to serve spacers and bearing surfacestherefor.

The blades comprise a series of substantially V notched stamped metalelements, the lowerrsurfaces of which. merging towards the apex, aresharpened as at 2? and 27 with the apex 28 serving asy a piercing point.

As shown in' Figures l and 3, the centermost blade 23a is the largestand has the greatest depth. On opposite sides of the center-most bladethere are disposed similar blades 236 and 235', 23o and 236, etc., oflesser scope and lesser depth, the respective blades on opposite sidesof the center-most blade decreasing one with respect to the other inproportion (see Figure By use of the blades of this nature, the cuttingelement, when depressed, will so operate as to first cause the piercingpoint of the center-most blade to penetrate a food product, the cuttingsurfaces leading towards such piercing point of such plate will then cutalong the food product from the area or zone thereof pierced until thepiercing points of the second set of blades 235 and 235 contact with thesurfaces of the food product, at properly spaced position at oppositesides of the center-most blade, after which the cutting surfaces leadingto the piercing point thereof likewise cut the food product along theZone already pierced; as the cutting elementis further depressed towardsthe full line position shown in Figure l, the respective piercing pointsand cutting surfaces of all the blades come into play, until the cuttingelement reaches full line position shown in Figure l and Figure 3,whereupon the food product is completely sliced and the cutting bladesand the support carrying the same are at or below the horizontal uppersurface of the receptacle, whereupon lthe sliced food. product, be it atomato, orange or lemon may be lifted out of the receptacle for use.

The oval shaped carrying portion l5 serves to permit the slightdisplacement to the left or right of the food product during thepiercing and cutting operation, so as to limit any pressure effect, suchas crushing of the same while being sliced.

It is obvious that'various changes and modifications' may be made to thedetails of construction without departing from the general spirit of theinvention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: y

l. In a device of the class described, the combination with a receptaclefor a food product, of a slicing element pivotally mounted with respectto vsaid receptacle, said slicing element comprising a series of bladesof V-notch formation, but of varying size and shape, said blades havingcutting edges terminating into piercing points.

2. In a device of the class described,the combination with a receptaclefor a food product having a series of slots formed therein, and acutting element pivoted with respect to said receptacle, andhaving aseries of cutting blades of V-notch formation adapted toproject into-theslots in the receptacle when the cutting element is depressed, thecentermost blade beine of greatest depth and the remaining blac es onopposite sides thereof being of varying size.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a receptaclefor a food product of a depressed carrier portion therein having aseries of slots' extending in the same direction,and a slicing elementcomprising a series of spaced cutting blades of V-notch formationdisposed so as to be in alignment with and adapted to project within theslots in the carrier when the slicing element is depressed, said cuttingblades being of similar formation, but of varying size and shape, andhaving piercing points at the lower-most extremity of the cutting edgesthereof.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a receptaclefor a food product of a depressed carrier portion therein havinga'series of slots extending in the same direction, and a slicing elementcomprising a series of spaced cutting blades of V-notch formationdisposed so as to be in alignment with and adapted to project within theslots in the carrier when the slicing element is depressed, said cuttingblades being of similar'V formation, but of varying size and shape, andhaving piercing points at the lower-most extremity of the cutting edgesthereof, the center-most cutting blade being of greater size and theblades on opposite sides thereof1 being of progressively smaller size.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination With a framehaving a depressed carrier portion therein, in Which is disposed aseries of spaced slots, a slicing element pivoted at one end of theframe distant from the depressed carrier portion I therein, said slicingelement comprising a series of spaced cutting blades disposed in spacedrelationship so as to be in alignment with and to project Within theslots of the carrier portion when the slicing element is depressed, saidcutting blades being V- notched in formation, the respectiveV sides ofthe blades merging towards the apex, the cutting edges on said bladesterminating in piercing points at the apex thereof.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination With a framehaving a depressed carrier portion therein, in which is disposed aseries of spaced slots, a slicing element pivoted at one end of theframe distant from the depressed carrier portion therein, said slicingelement comprising a series of spaced cutting blades disposed in spacedrelationship so as to be in alignment with and to project Within theslots of the carrier portion when the slicing element is depressed, saidcutting blades being V- notched in formation, the respective sides ofthe blades merging towards the apex, the cutting edges on said bladesterminating in piercing points at the apex thereof, the centermost bladebeing of greatest depth, and the blades on opposite sides thereof beingof progressively lesser depth.

CHARLES DAUM.

